Actuating mechanism for refuse container

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to an actuator for a compacting blade for a refuse body. Novel scissors types of linkage mechanism are driven by a double acting cylinder to amplify the stroke so that there is a working stroke greater than the piston travel of the actuating cylinder.

United States Patent Worthington [451 Apr. 4, 1972 [54] ACTUATING MECHANISM FOR REFUSE CONTAINER [72] Inventor: Stanley W. Worthington, First and Iowa Streets, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613 22 Filed: June 29,1970

211 Appl.No.: 50,411

521 u.s.c1 ..74/1o1 511 mm ..Fl6h2l/44 [58] FieldotSearch ..74/l01,103,105,99 ,5l8,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,934,226 4/l9 6Q pemp steretal..

3,035,711 3/1962 Rehnstrom ..74/5l6 x" 2,832,488 4/1958 Kamin ..2l4/82 x 3,231,111 1/1966 Clar ..214/s3.3

Primary ExaminerMilton Kaufman Assistant Examiner-Wesley S. Ratliff, Jr. Attorney-Henderson 8L Strom [5 7] ABSTRACT This invention relates to an actuator for a compacting blade for a refuse body. Novel scissors types of linkage mechanism are driven by a double acting cylinder to amplify the stroke so that there is a working stroke greater than the piston travel of the actuating cylinder.

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sum 2 or 2 flwawraz STANLEY W. WORTH/N6 TON ACTUATING MECHANISM FOR REFUSE CONTAINER BACKGROUND OF THE iNVENTION The invention relates to refuse containers, and resides more particularly in the means for powering a longitudinal movable compacting and unloading bulkhead or blade, which is caused to travel from its loading position toward the compacting and/or unloading position and return to its loading position, and which serves to compact and/or unload material within the container.

When used for house to house collection of garbage or other refuse material, such containers are commonly mounted on the chassis of the transporting vehicle. In other types of service such a container may be left on location, until filled. It may then be loaded for transport by means of any of the commonly used truck loading hoists commercially available. Loading of material into the refuse body is accomplished through doors in one or both sides and/or top, through which refuse is dumped into the storage and/or transporting space within the body and behind the longitudinally traveling compacting bulkhead or blade has been brought into aforward position in proximity with the forward end of the body.

In order to carry large amounts of refuse material within the available space inside the body, it is necessary that the material be compacted subsequently to loading, so as to increase its density and more effectively fill the body.

It is usual for such bodies to be equipped with a vertically swinging tail or end gate, which is opened for unloading. The curved configuration of this gate is such that as the refuse material within the body is compacted by rearward movement of the compactor bulkhead, or blade and is forced to follow the rounded contour of the tail gate in such a way that the level of the material above the floor is increasingly raised so as to effectively fill the space within the body.

When the body is loaded to the desired height, it is transported to an unloading or dumping area. The swinging tail or end gate is raised, whereupon rearward movement of the compacting blade causes the material to discharge by gravity behind the body onto the ground. After unloading, the swinging end gate is lowered into its closed position, and the compacting blade is caused to move into its forward or normal loading position.

It has been customary to actuate such compacting bulkheads, or blades, either by chains or by hydraulic cylinders of the telescoping or multistage type. Such telescoping cylinders employ two or more tubes which serve to house successively smaller tubes, and/or pistons. The total stroke, or travel, of the outer end of such telescoping cylinders is equal to the arithmetical sum of the individual strokes of the multiple cylinder tubes and/or pistons involved in their combination.

The use of a multiplicity of telescoping tubes in a hydraulic cylinder capable of exerting power and effecting movement when either extending or retracting involves multiple highly finished internal and external sliding surfaces with their attendant problems of concentricity and alignment with a correspondingly number of internal and external pressure resisting hydraulic packings or seals. Those multiple sealing surfaces and their related sealing members are costly to manufacture and difiicult to maintain.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention comprises a stationary framework and a member useable to apply force to material, for example, being compressed, and including articulated means interconnected I to and extended between the framework and the member, and

with a fluid operated piston and cylinder connected to said elements wherein the stroke of the piston is amplified distancewise by the movement of the member relative to the framework.

It is an object of this invention to provide a novel mechanism for the actuation of the compacting and/or unloading bulkhead or blade for a refuse body.

Another object of the invention is to provide a means for multiplying the stroke of a fluid actuated piston used for the actuation of a compacting and/or unloading blade or bulkhead of a refuse container, such that the effective movement of the blade exceeds the contracted length of the piston.

A further object of this invention is to power the movement of a compacting and unloading bulkhead or blade of a refuse container with a simple, single-stage, double-acting hydraulic piston and cylinder having a retracted overall length less than the powered movement of said blade.

A further object of the invention is to provide a linkage which will a amplify the distance of movement of the piston of a hydraulic double-acting cylinder device for operation of the packing and/or unloading blade of a refuse truck, such that the blade movement exceeds the piston travel of the actuating cylinder.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a novel mechanism for actuation of the compacting-unloading blade such that the face of the blade on the side opposite the mechanism is designed, due to the coaction of the mechanism with the blade, to obtain maximum compaction of the working material.

Further objects, features and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the body, cut away for illustrative purposes, of a refuse truck, the cab shown in phantom, with the compacting blade and its actuating mechanism shown;

FIG. 2 is a reduced side elevational view of the interior of the body, illustrating the compacting blade in the loading position;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the control mechanism for the piston and cylinder device;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2, and illustrates a modification of the blade actuating mechanism;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 2, and illustrates another modification of the blade actuating mechanism; and

FIG. 6 is also a view similar to FIG. 2, and illustrates a further modification of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring particularly to FIG. 1, a body 10 encompassing the instant invention is shown carried by a refuse truck 11.

The body 10 has a bottom 14, a front wall 13, sidewalls l5,

and a top 12. An end gate 18 is pivotally attached to the body 10 at its upper edge and may be opened and closed by a suitable actuator as is conventional.

An I-beam rail 16 is attached to the bottom 14 at its longitudinal center and has an upper surface 17 on which an upright, unloading and compacting blade 31 is slidably mounted in a conventional manner. The blade 31 is formed of top and bottom frame members 33 and 32, which are interconnected by upright frame members 35, 36, 37, 38 and 39.

The lower portion of the blade 31 has a projection which extends toward the end gate 18 and is formed by brace members 46, 47 and 48 which extend from uprights 36, 37 and 38 and which terminate in a cross frame member 44. A cover 49 extends over the frame members. A guide bracket member 45 engages I-beam 16. Although the blade 31 is shown supported on rail 16, it may also be mounted on rails (not shown) attached to the sides of the body.

The blade 31 is actuated by a single stage, double-acting hydraulic piston and cylinder 51. One end of the cylinder 51 has a bracket 54 which is pivotally attached by pin 19 to a bracket 20 mounted on the rail 16 near the front of the body 10. A pair of links 21 and 22 form a first linkage and have their lower ends pivotally attached to the bracket 20 by pin 19.

An actuating link 24, a second linkage, is formed with sidewalls and a top 26 and has its upper end pivotally connected to the upper ends of links 21 and 22 by pin 23. Actuating link 24 has its lower end connected to a bracket 29 by pin 28, and the bracket 29 is attached to the blade 31.

The piston rod 52 of the cylinder 51 is attached by a pin 53 to the actuating link 24'intermediate its ends such that actuation of the cylinder 51 moves the blade 31 back and forth within the body.

The hydraulic piston and cylinder 31 may be actuated by any control system. Hydraulic couplings 57 and 59 (FIG. 1) are attached to opposite ends of the cylinder 51 and are attached to hydraulic lines 56 and 58 (FIG. 3).

As best shown in FIG. 3, the hydraulic lines 56 and 58 are connected to a rotatable valve 81. A reservoir 76 is also fluid connected to the valve 81 by a line 79. A hydraulic pump 73 is connected to the reservoir 76 by a line 77, and to the valve 81 by a line 78. The trucks motor 71 drives a power take-off (not shown) which has an output shaft 72, shown by dotted lines in FIG. 3, which drives pump 73.

Pressure switches 67 and 68 are fluid connected to a control unit 62 for sensing the pressure in the cylinder 51. When the pressure reaches a pre-determined value, an electrical signal is applied to the control unit 62, and by conventional means, hydraulically reverses the cylinder 51, returning the packer blade 31 to the front position (FIG. 2), and finally stopping the cylinders movement.

In operation, refuse is placed in the body 10 through a side opening 65, with the blade 31 in the from position. Upon depressing the cycle button 66, the control unit 62 responds to operate the valve actuator 84 which roates the valve 81 to supply fluid to the lower end of cylinder 51 (FIG. 3) through the hydraulic line 58. The piston 52 expands and separates the first linkage 21, 22 andthe second linage 24, thus moving the compacting blade 31 toward the end gate 18 to compact the refuse. When the pressure encountered by blade 31 reaches a predetermined value, the control unit 62 detects this through lines 74 and 75 to the pressure switches 67 and 68, and energizes the valve actuator 84 to reverse the valve 81 so that fluid is supplied to the upper end of double acting cylinder 51 (FIG. 3) to return the blade 31 to the position shown in FIG. 2.

The stop button 64 allows the mechanism to be stopped at any time if desired. The switch 63 has three positions; off, pack and return, and the operation may be controlled by this switch rather than the automatic cycle switch 66 if desired.

The valve 81 allows the fluid from one side of the piston 52 to return to the reservoir 76 when the other side of the piston is being energized.

Modifications of the invention are illustrated in FIGS. 4, and 6. For example, in FIG. 4, a simple double-acting hydraulic cylinder 97 is utilized to actuate the blade 31 through linkages 91 and 93. The linkage 93 has its lower end pivoted to a stationary anchor by pin 94 and the upper end is connected by pin 96 to the upper end of the linkage 91. The lower end of linkage 91 is connected by pivot pin 92 to the blade 31, and

. ,thfi. placement of the cylinder 97, the movement of the blade 31 will be substantially greater than the stroke of the piston 99. In other words, the piston rod 99 moves a distance less than the distance movement of the blade 31 due to the amplification of the motion caused by the scissors linkage. The links 91 and 93 serve as distance multiplying linkage in combination with the hydraulic cylinder as shown.

FIG. 5 illustrates a further modification of a scissors type linkage for moving the blade 31 wherein a first link 102 has its lower end mounted by a pivot pin 103 to the body and has its upper end pivotally connected by pin 104 to a link 106 which has its lower end connected by a pivot pin 109 to the blade 31.

' A cylinder 107 has one end of its piston rod 108 connected to blade 31 b a 1pin 109, and the cylinder 107 is pivotal] connected to e ink 102 intermediate its ends by a pin 11. In

this embodiment, the linkage 106 is subject only to tension and compression forces and is not subjected to any bending forces.

A further modification of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 6 wherein the free end of the piston rod 108 is connected to the blade 31 by a pin 112 which is mounted on the blade 31 above the pin 109. The structure of FIG. 6 provides a clockwise rotating couple as the piston rod 108 is extended, which acts to stabilize the blade 31 and to reduce loading and wear on the guides thereof.

Although this invention has been described with respect to a preferred embodiment, it is not to be so limited as changes and modifications may be made which are within the full intended scope as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a body having a compacting blade longitudinally movable between a front end and a rear end of the body, apparatus for reciprocally moving the blade comprising:

scissors linkage means including a first link pivotally connected at one end to the front of the body, and a second link pivotally connected at one end to the base of the blade, said links pivotally connected together at their free ends for articulated movement longitudinally of the body; and

power multiplying means including a double-acting hydraulic piston and cylinder device, with one end of the device pivotally connected to said first link, and with the other end of the device pivotally connected to said second link, whereby operation of said device results in articulation of said linkage means to move the blade in one direction or the other within the body. 

1. In a body having a compacting blade longitudinally movable between a front end and a rear end of the body, apparatus for reciprocally moving the blade comprising: scissors linkage means including a first link pivotally connected at one end to the front of the body, and a second link pivotally connected at one end to the base of the blade, said links pivotally connected together at their free ends for articulated movement longitudinally of the body; and power multiplying means including a double-acting hydraulic piston and cylinder device, with one end of the device pivotally connected to said first link, and with the other end of the device pivotally connected to said second link, whereby operation of said device results in articulation of said linkage means to move the blade in one direction or the other within the body. 